Tom Brady
Former NFL quarterback · The TB12 Method
Seven-time Super Bowl winner who played 23 NFL seasons, retired in 2023, and now calls games as Fox Sports' lead NFL analyst while part-owning the Las Vegas Raiders. With body coach Alex Guerrero he built the TB12 Method: daily muscle pliability work, resistance bands in place of heavy weights, a plant-heavy anti-inflammatory diet, a lot of water and a 9 p.m. bedtime, all laid out in his 2017 book. Since retiring he has written The 199, a weekly newsletter on mindset, habits and leadership.
- Entries
- 23
- Does
- 17
- Recommends
- 2
- Discusses
- 4
Supplements
4 supplements in this stack
- SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein powder
By his own account he drinks four or five protein shakes on a game day. First a fruit, nut and seed smoothie. Then, after training, plant protein in almond milk.
Source: CNBC Make It: What NFL star Tom Brady eats and drinks before a big gameView item: Protein powderOn record from 18 of 62 tracked people: 13 do it, 3 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Electrolyte supplementation
First thing after waking he drinks 20 ounces of water with electrolytes, he says, and tops up with more electrolyte water midway through his workout.
Source: CNBC Make It: What NFL star Tom Brady eats and drinks before a big gameView item: Electrolyte supplementationOn record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 12 do it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Multivitamin
Says he always takes a multivitamin because nobody's diet is perfect and you never know what you missed.
Source: CNBC Make It: What NFL star Tom Brady eats and drinks before a big gameView item: MultivitaminOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - SupplementDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Caffeine
Avoids caffeine along with alcohol, according to CNBC's summary of his 2017 book, which lists both among the things he keeps out of his sleep routine.
Source: CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routineView item: CaffeineOn record from 14 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 1 recommends it, 3 have discussed it
Gear
3 pieces of gear in this stack
- GearDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance bands
Around nine tenths of his training is done with bands, he says, after years of lifting left him sore. He finds his muscles more balanced and functional for a quarterback's movements and says bands clearly work better for him.
Source: NOBULL (TB12): How Tom Brady Stays HealthyView item: Resistance bandsOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - GearDoes it$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Far-infrared recovery sleepwear
Wears the far-infrared recovery pajamas he helped launch in 2017, saying they increase oxygen flow to his muscles. CNBC notes the supporting studies are small and mostly in animals.
Source: CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routineView item: Far-infrared recovery sleepwearOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - GearDiscusses$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Vibrating foam roller
A vibrating roller or sphere opens and closes his branded in-season workout: a few minutes beforehand to prepare the muscles. Afterward comes a roll-out that the program says flushes lactic acid and aids recovery.
Source: NOBULL (TB12): Tom Brady's Favorite High-Intensity WorkoutView item: Vibrating foam rollerOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 has discussed it
Books
2 books in this stack
- BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Four Agreements
Called it a kind of mantra for his life in a 2015 radio interview and said he rereads it once a year for perspective. The rule about not taking things personally is the one he singles out.
Source: Boston.com: Tom Brady has been reading the same self-help book for almost a decadeVisit miguelruiz.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The TB12 Method
His own 2017 book, covering pliability, band training, nutrition, hydration and sleep in first person, with workouts and recipes.
Source: Boston.com: 12 excerpts from Tom Brady's new self-help bookVisit simonandschuster.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Protocols
8 entriesStructured routines and practices with a defined method.
In bed by 9 p.m. and up at 6 a.m. for nine hours of sleep, according to his 2017 book as summarized by CNBC, which lists the fixed bedtime as one of the main planks of his routine.
Source: CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routineLikes his room cool, dark and as quiet as possible, he writes, with the ideal temperature around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routineCore and glute stability anchor his in-season nine-exercise band workout, along with strict neutral alignment. He says that without good core stability he would not be able to transfer force from his feet up through his throwing arm.
Source: NOBULL (TB12): Tom Brady's Favorite High-Intensity WorkoutHe added freestyle sets to his retirement workouts in 2024. He called it muscle resistance and aerobic cardio at once, posting a routine of 100s and 200s mixed with step-ups, band push-ups and box jumps.
Source: People (via AOL): Tom Brady calls his wellness regimen an investment that is paying offHe treats every loss as something to learn from. What he takes away through review and self-reflection is usually a bigger positive than the win would have been, he says.
Source: NOBULL (TB12): Tom Brady's Mental Toughness, 4 Principles He Relies OnHe describes the regimen he follows as a mix of Eastern and Western philosophies that may look restrictive to others but feels natural to him. His book steers away from the white or pale processed foods he says many people are conditioned to eat, and toward limited dairy. That last position, he admits, sits oddly with the milk ad he once did.
Source: Boston.com: 12 excerpts from Tom Brady's new self-help bookDeep, targeted muscle work with body coach Alex Guerrero after his band sessions, which he calls pliability. He told CBS he does not want dense muscles and would rather keep them strong but pliable, so that he can limit or avoid injury when he absorbs a hit.
Source: CBS Boston: Tom Brady says muscle pliability is key to his workout methodArgues in his book that lifting heavy weights and moving fast at the same time is not sustainable for long-term performance, and that younger athletes who manage it are trading away durability. Heavy lifting, he writes, is at odds with keeping muscles pliable.
Source: Boston.com: 12 excerpts from Tom Brady's new self-help book
Habits
6 entriesRecurring behaviors recorded in public statements.
Starts a game day at 6 a.m., he says, with the first two hours given to electrolyte water, a smoothie and letting food digest before his 40-minute training session.
Source: CNBC Make It: What NFL star Tom Brady eats and drinks before a big gameTurn electronic devices off half an hour before bed, he advises, and move any bedroom TV somewhere else. He also writes that his wife did not allow cellphones near the bed when they slept.
Source: Boston.com: 12 excerpts from Tom Brady's new self-help bookEvery week he sits down to look back at the one before, pull out its lessons and plan how to apply them. It is a system he says has always worked for him. That routine now shapes his newsletter.
Source: The 199 newsletter: How to Be Great and Be Present More OftenHis target is at least half his body weight in ounces of water each day, about 112 ounces at his playing weight of around 225 pounds. He breaks off midway through a workout to top up.
Source: CNBC Make It: What NFL star Tom Brady eats and drinks before a big gameDinner is the last thing he eats, and on the rare occasions he has dessert he moves it to after lunch so the sugar does not keep him up. Anyone exercising at night, he adds, should finish two to three hours before sleep.
Source: CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routineSpeaking to the AP in 2024, he said retirement has brought later nights and a few more tequilas than in his playing days, when a strict routine was part of how he lasted so long. He will not stray far from that discipline, he said.
Source: NBC Boston (AP): Tom Brady on his full plate and what's bringing him joy
In their own words
Checked word for word against the linked source
“Some people want denser muscles. As an athlete, as a quarterback, I don't want them, … I want to keep my muscles strong and active, but also pliable.”
CBS Boston: Tom Brady says muscle pliability is key to his workout method (opens in a new tab) · 18 Sep 2017 “My muscles are more balanced and functional, especially for the movements I need to perform as an NFL quarterback. Resistance bands clearly work better for me.”
NOBULL (TB12): How Tom Brady Stays Healthy (opens in a new tab) · 12 Dec 2025 “I like my room cool, dark, and as quiet as possible”
CNBC Make It: Inside Tom Brady's sleep routine (opens in a new tab) · 6 Feb 2021 “Create a good pre-sleep routine to relax. Train your body to get into a rhythm by going to bed at a regular time, and turn off all your electronic devices a half hour before you go to sleep.”
Boston.com: 12 excerpts from Tom Brady's new self-help book (opens in a new tab) · 14 Sep 2017 “Every week, I sit down to reflect on the events of the week before, extract their lessons, and gameplan how to apply those lessons toward greatness and growth.”
The 199 newsletter: How to Be Great and Be Present More Often (opens in a new tab) · 3 Feb 2026
Stack notes are paraphrased. Anything in quotation marks is a short excerpt copied from the transcript it links to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.